When a large company absorbs another large enterprise, usually, stock prices rise, investors get excited, top management rejoices and customers look for improvements across the board. But all those positives vibes can mask a big problem that can lead to a whoppingly expensive crisis. Behind the scenes, it is common for the buyer to take over the properties of the seller. An outsider might think … Continue reading A near-perfect crisis plan
The government wouldn’t listen. The company was being savaged in the media. Its local plant was shut and several hundred workers were at the mercy of bureaucrats including inspectors of their food products. The PR people were frustrated. Suddenly, the PR team became excited and was able to see some light at the end of the really dark and scary tunnel. A ‘source’ told us … Continue reading Means and ends
Many executives may be tempted to give personal opinions today following the surprising victory of Donald Trump. Some CEOs already publicly have deplored the fact Trump will shortly become President of the U.S.A. while others have praised The Donald. Both sides are making what could become large mistakes. Executives and others should be extremely cautious when making any political comment on social media or through … Continue reading Before you hit ‘send’
An organization can find itself in crisis mode quickly when any sizable group is alienated by the actions or even the intent of the organization. This group can morph into a protest group and then go public at electric speed because of the power of social media. The traditional way for organizations to deal with such public protest groups gone public is to oppose the … Continue reading When protest becomes a crisis
Never ever use these words (well, one is an expression) in a media interview: “You know…” If we ‘know’ what you are going to say, why are we listening to you repeat it? We tune into a news program to learn things. Your interview should inform us as to what is new, not what we knew. Many interviewees use this expression over and over. Do … Continue reading Three little words to avoid
Journalism has changed a great deal over the past few years and will continue to change as social media replaces so much of our traditional viewing and reading sources. What hasn’t changed, however, are the rules of journalism. The difference between getting your news from professionals or from the local gossips is the motivation of the teller of the tale. A professional journalist looks upon … Continue reading Journalism tech is new but rules aren’t
Speaking in public is one of the things most people fear almost more than being thrown, in their birthday suits, into pits of spiders, scorpions and wriggling snakes. This fear can be overcome or, better still, used to propel the public speaker to success. One of the best ways to overcome much of the sheer terror of speaking in public is simply to interact with … Continue reading Public speaking; conquering the fear
There are some television news field producers, always in a rush, who take an easy route to supervising the editing of an interview to use on air. They ask the video editor to ‘fast forward’ until the interviewee makes a move – crossing of legs, waving of hands, grimacing or other ‘tell.’ At this point, the producer says “stop and play that bit” and the … Continue reading The physical side of interviews
Media training is a must today for senior executives in large corporations. The question is, what is it and what does it train one to do? Good question. Media training can be an extremely valuable experience or an exercise in misdirection. Unbelievably, a great deal of media training is being done by people who have never worked a day of their lives in the news … Continue reading Media training: it has to be good
The Interview – it is one of the best tools for building credibility for your brand and for explaining the basics of your products and services to huge numbers of potential customers. Every time a newspaper, television or radio reporter asks a company representative for an interview, the firm should throw a party and serve champagne. This is your chance to take your message to … Continue reading The Interview beats The Standup
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